I do not have a green thumb. Oh how I love fresh, beautiful plants and flowers; they just never seem to last very long under my care. I try, really I do. I have every intention of watering them, giving them adequate sunlight and getting the miracle-grow potting soil. But for some reason, I never seem to remember to do “something”… and then, sadly, another one makes its way to the trash with my insistent thought, “I’ll do better next time”.

So here I am, yet again. When my youngest son was born this past March, I was given a cute little basket with a mixture of beautiful plants inside. “Okay,” I thought, “here is my chance to redeem myself.” I put the plant on the window sill of the baby’s bedroom so it would get plenty of light. I watered it… when I remembered. I saw it sitting there many times; I knew needed to take better care of it… maybe water it a little more often, rotate it a bit to allow more sunlight on the other side… but I was usually busy with the baby and figured I would get to it later.

Well…. later never came, and after 5 months, the plant completely dried up and was ready to move to the great beyond, as there was very little hope of any surviving life. But I felt bad. This was a gift that I had neglected; unintentionally perhaps, yet I did let it die under my care. On the way to the trash, I instead decided to move the plant into my bathroom (so I could remember to water it) and try just one more time. I gave the plant a good flooding of cool, clean water and left it sitting there. Several days later, I gave it a little more. After some time, I noticed some new green shoots coming up from amidst the dried, shriveled leaves. It was beautiful! I got so excited as I watched this plant over the next few weeks… it was coming back to life!!! (Can you imagine my happy dance?)

Look! I even took a picture!!

I think God gave me this little treasure as a remembrance to never give up; anything can be made new again. Relationships, marriages, friendships… they may seem dead on the surface; withered, with no hope of survival. But God has a cool, clean water that can bring anything back to life! Too many times we have neglected a person or relationship in our lives; maybe more was expected of us than we wanted to give, or maybe we just did not have the time or energy to invest the care that was needed to continue to cultivate it. We meant to pour ourselves into the other, but we got distracted, busy with life… so the relationship dried up and died.

Isaiah 43:19 says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

I have one particular relationship in my life that I have earnestly been praying for God to heal for a long time… years, in fact. On the surface, it seems dead; everyone around me would say it was time to bury it and move on. But I will never give up! It does not matter how hopeless it may seem on the outside, how many dried leaves are falling off the branches… with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). So I will continue to pray, continue to water and keep watch everyday for that new green sprig to surface… the sign of new life beginning!

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galations 6:9 ESV)

What do you have in your life that seems hopeless, dead or beyond repair? What requests have you taken to God that just seem to have fallen upon deaf ears? May I encourage you today: Never, ever give up!! God is a miracle working God! He hears you… He knows! Just continue to pray… just continue to seek Him… just continue to trust that He knows what He is doing! Our prayers may not always be answered exactly the way we want them to be, but God can make a way in the desert… He can heal any broken or strained relationship… He can perform miracles in each of our lives, sometimes instantly, sometimes after a long journey.

Just keep watering, keep watching and never give up! One day, you might just see that beautiful, new green leaf in your seemingly “hopeless” situation!

4 Responses to “Miracle-Grow” Needed!

Tara – What a fantastic post!! It seems that we are so used to getting things instantly that when change does not come fast or as quickly as we would like, we give up. But like you quoted, let us not grow weary of doing good… So encouraging today! Thanks for this!

I appreciate your comment Rachel…. I know God doesn’t always answer in the way we want, but I am convinced that too many times we give up on God before He has had time to work out all the details of answering our prayers. Even if the ending is a little different than we anticipated, if God is truly in control and we are truly trusting Him… then we can trust it will be beautiful either on this side of Heaven or the other! 🙂

I have just stumbled onto your blog this morning and I have to say I am deeply touched and moved by all of your posts and your background story. I believe it is no “accident” that I found your blog this morning. You see, I am a “worrier”. I have been blessed by God with a relatively easy life, but in my mind that is not the case. I worry about the future constantly and my favorite phrase is “what if…….”. I can create scenarios and situations in my mind and eventually convince myself it is only a matter of time before these terrible things happen (usually related to finances or health, even though these things are fine in my life right now). This is so contrary to how God has commanded us to live and I struggle with these negative thoughts and fears daily. To read your story and see you how you have experienced so many of the things I fear and to see your strength and faith has been a wake up call for me this morning. We are to live our lives in total surrender to HIM and even if these things take place in our lives, we survive and eventually will THRIVE again. The enemy is very much trying to rob me of my peace and joy in life over matters that have not even happened and I cannot allow this to happen. Thanks for your transparency and I look forward to reading more!

Thank you so much for reading and for your sweet comment! I understand completely… I used to worry all the time; even about the petty, insignificant things that had no meaning. If you just focus each day on God and truly learn to trust Him completely, you can come to the place where you realize and know, He is enough. Even if the world around you starts to crumble, He is enough. Everyone on this earth goes through seasons; as stated in Ecclesiastes there is a time for life, death, weeping, laughter, love and hate… but through it all, God is enough!! It sounds like you are in a great season of your life right now… enjoy the blessings! Thank God for where you are today! Don’t worry about the “what if’s” or tomorrow… you are human and there is nothing you can do to control what is ultimately in the hands of God. Take each day you are given as gift… love your family and friends and live intentionally each and every day. That way, no matter what happens tomorrow, you will have no regrets and you will have a grateful heart full of wonderful memories. Don’t let the worry of what you can not control rob you of your joy and peace today!!! Look forward to hopefully reading more comments from you in the future!! Enjoy each beautiful day!! 🙂